Hold On
by Dixon lover
Summary: Paula has been on her own since before this apocalypse started. After escaping an abusive boyfriend how will she get along with rough red neck Daryl Dixon? Set during season end of season one and two.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is set in season 1 and 2. **

**I do not own any part of the walking dead. Please review!**

* * *

Paula was heading down the I-10 highway. Her long brown hair whipped in the wind her olive skin soaking up the sun. She was probably going 90 miles an hour. That was one thing Paula liked out of all of this apocalypse she didn't need to follow any damn speed limits, and she liked it.

On the other hand it had been about two days since she had run out of food and she was running dangerously low on water, fuel and ammo. She was headed straight for Atlanta. She knew that this idea was a suicide mission but with hunger setting in and all of the stores outside of the city being raided this was her last option. She was headed for Fort Benning, her fiancé was stationed here and before all of the communication systems went down he told her to head for there and that it was safe.

Paula had been together with her fiancé Jason since she was sixteen. He proposed to her on her twenty second birthday. He had been a charming and handsome man and immediately she had fallen for him. Everything had been going great. But a few weeks after he proposed his mom died. This left him in a state of mourning, but that soon turned to drinking. Soon Paula was getting beat almost every night by Jason after her came home from the bar. She tried to get away from him but as soon as he found out her plan he chained her up in the basement for two weeks. She had long since fallen out of love with this once charming boy. This last week Paula had decided that she wouldn't be going to Fort Benning but she was still scared Jason might find out.

* * *

Soon Paula had her car parked by some abandoned railroad tracks right on the city limit. She had grown up right outside of Atlanta and figured that walking into the city would attract less attention than driving. Paula stepped out of her car grabbing a bottle of water, her pistol, bat and her last box of ammo. Paula had been hunting since she was a girl. Her dad had taught her before he died. After her dad died she was placed in foster care and most of the time she had to go and hunt for her own food or she wouldn't be eating that night. Paula sighed and crept into the city.

After walking in a few blocks she had only seen four or five walkers. The city was quiet, too quiet for Paula's liking this made her worry. It was like the calm before the storm. Putting doubt aside she carried on going deeper into the city. Soon she came across a pharmacy. None of the windows had been smashed so this gave Paula hope. She had been getting very cut up lately and some seemed close to infection despite her trying to keep the wounds clean. Opening the door cautiously Paula stepped inside.

None of the walkers outside had seen her so she was glad about that. Taking a deep breath Paula caught scent of what she knew was death. Slowly she walked down the first aisle she didn't find too much but when she saw there was feminine hygiene products on the bottom shelf she almost let out a cheer. She bent down and began filling her bag with them. The next thing she knew she was knocked down and a walker was trying to take a bite of her arm.

"Ah fuck!" Paula yelled struggling to stay away from the walker. The smell was so putrid Paula began to gag. Soon though she had fought her way on top. She grabbed the knife out of her boot and in one swift motion stabbed the son of a bitch between the eyes. As she continued through the store she only came across one other walker but this time she was ready knife in hand. In one motion she stabbed it in the back of the skull before it had even noticed her.

As she went behind the counter she hit another jackpot and found a shotgun and a pistol along with three ammo boxes for each. Before leaving she managed to find some canned vegetables, granola bars and some basic medical supplies and antibiotics. As she left the store she realized her problem the walkers had heard her scream.

They were standing against the glass and banging to get in at the sight of a meal. "Fuck" Paula whispered as she ran to the back of the store hoping to find another exit of some sort. Upon seeing no exit she saw some stairs. Running up them two at a time she finally reached the top. She saw that this was probably an apartment to whoever had owned the pharmacy. She looked out the window and saw more walkers piling up outside and she knew it was only a matter of time until the glass gave way. She looked out the back window and saw an alley that was clear of walkers the window was already broken out. Paula knew what she had to do.

Downstairs Paula heard a cracking of glass. She had to do this now. She stepped up to the window and looked down it was probably a fifteen foot drop. It was now or never. She took a breath and jumped her palm getting sliced by a shard left in the window frame. As soon as she landed she heard a sharp crack. A stabbing pain shot through her leg she was pretty sure that was her ankle.

* * *

She didn't have any time to check though as about fifteen walkers turned the corner. Paula took off with a sprint the opposite direction. It was probably a quarter mile till her truck. As she turned the next corner on the road she came on walkers started following her they heard the hungry groans of others and soon she was being chased by probably forty walkers. Paula kept running her ankle was ready to give out but she knew that this was life or death.

A walker appeared in front of her, Giving a tight grip to her bat Paula swung. The walkers head exploded brains flying in Paula's hair. She didn't look back as she took a hard right hoping to lose them. Again she took a left this time finally Paula took another left and got back on the main road. To her luck there was no walkers after her. She still hurried hoping to get to her car before any caught wind of her.

Paula saw her car in the distance and knew she was very lucky to be alive. She had enough food to probably last her another week and surviving that last mission was a blessing. As Paula got closer to her car she noticed there were bodies around it. _ Not more corpses! _Paula thought but as she slowed she realized theses weren't corpses these were men.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the men noticed Paula they held there weapons up thinking there was a walker. Paula saw this and got worried.

"Hey don't fuckin' shoot! I'm alive!" Paula yelled limping over. The pain of her ankle growing stronger by the second. "What the hell are you doing by my truck? Just step away." Paula now warned. Picking up her empty shotgun and aiming it at then hoping they wouldn't realize it wasn't loaded. Paula soon became worried. It was just her a woman and there were three of them. A redneck a cop and a young Asian boy.

"Hey, hey we mean no harm." The cop said lowering his weapon slowly. The Asian boy did the same the redneck however kept his crossbow aimed at her, Paula could feel the glare of his ice blue eye on her. "We mean you no harm ma'am. We didn't know this stuff was yours." He spoke again slowly beginning to turn away. At that minute Paula's ankle gave out. She fell to the ground with a thud. Quickly the cop turned around to help her.

He held out a hand to her but she denied. The redneck picked up the shotgun. Panicked Paula lunged for it. He just laughed.

"Ya' might want to load it the next time ya' threaten someone." He chuckled in a southern drawl. He handed it back to her. "Fuck you." Paula spit back now standing.

"Do you want to come back with us? We have a group, food and water. I'm sure someone could patch you up." The Asian boy said pointing to her cuts and scrapes some of which had reopened. He glanced at the officer silently asking for permission. This was the leader Paula figured.

"No, I'm fine. I don't really trust y'all." Paula said limping off to her truck.

"You sure?" The officer said.

"You heard her. Just leave her be she won't be any help to our group. Leave her be it's not like she's going to last anyway." The redneck snapped obviously annoyed. He turned back to back to the truck the Asian and sheriff followed both giving her sympathetic looks. They got in the car and drove off.

Paula got in her truck and turned the key. Nothing happened. _Oh shit oh shit! _She thought. _This can't be happening. _She tried again and again. Still nothing. She looked out her rearview mirror and then she saw it. Probably sixty walkers were headed her way. It was in that moment she realized she was hopeless. Her ankle was too injured for her to run and even if she did she would be all alone in the woods and night would be here in a few hours. It would probably be ten minutes till the walkers would be to her car. They knew the direction she went but they hadn't seen her yet. Paula reclined her seat and closed her eyes waiting for the end to come.

* * *

Soon there was a banging on her window. Paula didn't open her eyes. She knew what was out there and she was just too peaceful. The banging got louder. Suddenly the door flew open. She was yanked out of her seat. Paula's eyes flew open, what she saw wasn't a walker. It was that damn redneck. Paula started to scream.

"Put me down. Help me! Help!" Her screams pierced the air.

"Shut the hell up! I'm saving ya'!" He said gruffly. She was thrown into a beat up old pick up. The Asian sat in the bed. Paula trembled she knew her fate these men weren't here to save her they were going to rape her. She looked back and saw the heard closing in on her pickup at they drove off.

"Calm down. We aren't going to hurt you. We drove a mile and turned back because we didn't see a sign of you. We saw your car sitting there and that heard coming up we couldn't let you die. My name is Rick. That there is Glen in the back" The officer said noticing her trembling. "Daryl" The redneck grumbled just barely.

"Oh well thank you but I really should just leave. My name is Paula." Paula squirmed feeling awkward.

"I don't think that would be the best idea seeing your condition right now." Rick told her looking at her ankle which had now swollen to the size of a grape fruit. All of a sudden the pain rushed to her ankle. The inhaled sharply. Daryl glanced at her but didn't say anything. Paula reached down to touch her ankle when it felt like someone had stuck a knife in her shoulder.

"Ah fuck!" She winced grabbing her shoulder. Then she remembered hitting it on a brick wall when turning a corner. The adrenalin much have prevented her from feeling it. Daryl noticed her reaction to her shoulder. He slowed down the truck and turned to face her. This made Paula nervous. All of a sudden he grabbed her shoulder. She expected it to hurt but he knew just where to touch so that it wouldn't hurt.

"This thing is dislocated." He stated. "I can pop it back in quick if you want. It's gonna hurt." Paula nodded her head. She hoped this would end some of the stabbing pain. Daryl parked the car on the side of the road and got out. Paula hesitated.

"Ya' coming or not." Daryl said gruffly. Slowly she got out of the truck. Trying her best not to put any weight on her ankle. When she got out Daryl grabbed her and set her on the hood. She was surprised with how easily he lifted her.

"Lay down and hold on to this." He directed shoving her backpack at her. Paula listened and did as he told. "Rick come hold her down, she is gonna wanna fight." This worried Paula. "Hold on tight." He began to lift her arm out and Paula began screaming. Her shoulder popping with every inch Daryl moved it. If it weren't for Rick holding her down she for sure would have clawed Daryl's throat out.

After he finished Daryl effortlessly picked her up and put her back into the truck. Her shoulder still hurt but it felt a lot better. "Thank you." Paula told Daryl his response was just a grunt. She figured that was the best it would get. Daryl wasn't really a people person she could tell.

* * *

They sat in the car and continued to drive in silence. Every once in a while Daryl would glance over and Paula would catch him but he would just turn away and continue to drive in silence. It had probably been a half hour off straight driving when they turned down a side road. Paula figured they were going to the camp.

Paula set her hand down on her leg. Picking up her hand she noticed it was covered in thick sticky blood. Looking down at all of the blood that covered her Paula became lightheaded. Her head started to spin and the last thing she noticed was them turning into a quarry slowly Paula drifted into unconsciousness.


End file.
